Photo: Green254 · CC BY-SA 4.0Gillespie Township’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Gillespie Public Library serves 3,168 people in and around Gillespie Township. Last year it lent 5,357 print books and media and logged 2,600 visits.
What Gillespie Township’s library is like
Gillespie Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Gillespie Public Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 8% of the people Gillespie Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Illinois pays a big share
25% of the budget comes from the state, and 68% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Gillespie Township’s civic life grade
Gillespie Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Gillespie Public Library serves 3,168 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,357 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Gillespie Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
Find it
Gillespie Public Library, 201 West Chestnut Street, Gillespie.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gillespie Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $64K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $92K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $64K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 265 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Gillespie Township ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cahokia Township | Frank Bertetti Benld Public Library | 4.5 | 36 | C+ |
| Benld | Frank Bertetti Benld Public Library | 4.5 | 36 | C |
| Gillespie Township | Gillespie Public Library | 1.7 | 30 | — graded with its twin city |
| Dorchester Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Hillyard Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Brushy Mound Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Mount Clare | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Dorchester | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Gillespie Township
Does Gillespie Township have a public library?
Yes. Gillespie Public Library, 201 West Chestnut Street, serves 3,168 people in and around Gillespie Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gillespie Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Gillespie Township’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Gillespie Township’s civic life grade?
Gillespie Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Gillespie Township.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.